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Earlier this century, jatropha was hailed as a "wonder" biofuel. An unassuming shrubby tree native to Central America, it was hugely promoted as a high-yielding, drought-tolerant biofuel feedstock that could grow on abject lands throughout Latin America, Africa and Asia.
A jatropha rush ensued, with more than 900,000 hectares (2.2 million acres) planted by 2008. But the bubble burst. Low yields resulted in plantation failures nearly everywhere. The after-effects of the jatropha crash was tainted by allegations of land grabbing, mismanagement, and overblown carbon reduction claims.
Today, some scientists continue pursuing the evasive promise of high-yielding jatropha. A comeback, they state, depends on cracking the yield issue and attending to the damaging land-use concerns intertwined with its original failure.
The sole staying big jatropha plantation remains in Ghana. The plantation owner declares high-yield domesticated ranges have actually been accomplished and a new boom is at hand. But even if this resurgence fails, the world's experience of jatropha holds crucial lessons for any promising up-and-coming biofuel.
At the start of the 21st century, Jatropha curcas, an unassuming shrub-like tree native to Central America, was planted throughout the world. The rush to jatropha was driven by its pledge as a sustainable source of biofuel that might be grown on degraded, unfertile lands so as not to displace food crops. But inflated claims of high yields fell flat.
Now, after years of research and development, the sole staying large plantation concentrated on growing jatropha is in Ghana. And Singapore-based jOil, which owns that plantation, declares the jatropha resurgence is on.
"All those business that failed, embraced a plug-and-play design of hunting for the wild varieties of jatropha. But to advertise it, you need to domesticate it. This is a part of the procedure that was missed [throughout the boom]," jOil CEO Vasanth Subramanian informed Mongabay in an interview.
Having learned from the errors of jatropha's past failures, he says the oily plant might yet play a key role as a liquid biofuel feedstock, decreasing transport carbon emissions at the worldwide level. A brand-new boom might bring fringe benefits, with jatropha likewise a possible source of fertilizers and even bioplastics.
But some scientists are hesitant, keeping in mind that jatropha has currently gone through one hype-and-fizzle cycle. They caution that if the plant is to reach complete capacity, then it is vital to find out from previous errors. During the very first boom, jatropha plantations were obstructed not only by bad yields, however by land grabbing, deforestation, and social problems in nations where it was planted, including Ghana, where jOil operates.
Experts likewise suggest that jatropha's tale uses lessons for scientists and entrepreneurs exploring promising brand-new sources for liquid biofuels - which exist aplenty.
Miracle shrub, major bust
Jatropha's early 21st-century appeal originated from its pledge as a "second-generation" biofuel, which are sourced from grasses, trees and other plants not obtained from edible crops such as maize, soy or oil palm. Among its multiple supposed virtues was a capability to flourish on abject or "limited" lands
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Jatropha: the Biofuel that Bombed Seeks a Course To Redemption
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